Attorneys who utilize social payment applications such as Venmo within their law practices may inadvertently be disclosing confidential client information to the public. These exposures often include client names and occasionally reveal further sensitive details, such as payment amounts, the nature of the legal representation, or the client’s financial circumstances.
Professional Responsibility and Client Confidentiality
A fundamental obligation in the legal profession is the preservation of client confidentiality. Rule 1.6 of the American Bar Association’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct strictly prohibits a lawyer from revealing information relating to the representation of a client unless the client has provided informed consent. Furthermore, the ABA has issued an ethics opinion stating that this rule extends to prohibiting lawyers from revealing even the identity of a client.
The Nature of Social Payments
Venmo is characterized as a “social payments platform,” a key feature of which is the potential for transactions to be publicly viewable. By default, the platform is set to public, meaning that any person on the internet may be able to see the details of a transaction.
While this viewability can be changed, many users do not adjust the default settings. A user can set their account to private, restricting the transaction view to only the two participants. An intermediate setting, friends only, limits visibility to the user’s designated connections on the platform. When a lawyer uses Venmo without adjusting the public default setting, every transaction becomes accessible to the general public.
Documented Instances of Exposure
An exploration into the public settings of these accounts confirms that this is a current issue within the legal field. In a brief search, numerous lawyers’ accounts were found displaying payments for retainers or legal fees. In every observed instance, the identity of the person making the payment was clearly visible.
On the platform, most payments include a descriptive notation made by the payor. While the payment amount is not shown in the main public listings, sometimes the notation itself indicates the fee amount. Furthermore, by clicking through to the payor’s profile page, one can typically view their name and sometimes other identifying information.
- Case Examples: One attorney’s public Venmo account displayed numerous transactions with notes such as “fees,” “fees now due,” “final fees,” and “Past due attorney fees.” In each case, a viewer could determine the name of the person making the payment. Another attorney’s transactions included notations explicitly mentioning the matter, such as “expidited devorce,” and “2500 attorney fee for objection.”
- Mixed Accounts: Many attorneys found on the platform appear to commingle professional and personal use. One account showed both practice-related transactions, such as receipt of legal fees and payments for transcripts, alongside personal payments like “grandpa’s Xmas present” and “food haircut.” Another attorney’s account reflected both legal fees and rent payments, with one person’s partial rent payments repeatedly detailing their financial difficulties.
In a number of more compliant instances, however, attorneys had taken appropriate steps to set their transactions to private. For these accounts, the profile displayed the message, “This business isn’t sharing transactions publicly.”
Protecting Client Information on Human&Legal
It is likely that most attorneys who have public transactions are completely unaware that their account settings are exposing client information. The “social payments” aspect of these platforms is unique, and many lawyers may not consider its implications for professional ethics. Of even greater concern is the fact that clients are also unlikely to know that their payment transactions and corresponding notations are publicly viewable.
It is simple and quick to configure the platform to ensure transactions remain private.
To configure your account for privacy:
- Access the Me tab within the application.
- Tap the Settings icon in the top right corner.
- Select Privacy.
- Choose the Private setting.
Note: For lawyers with previous public transactions, a second step is required to address past disclosures:
- While remaining in the Privacy settings, select Past Transactions.
- Tap Change All to Private.
Lawyers must take immediate action to review and update their privacy settings to uphold their duties regarding client confidentiality and adhere to the Model Rules of Professional Conduct.
